


Heroes and Shadows

by WarblyZombie



Category: Original Work
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, Adventure, F/F, Gen, LGBTQ Character, Original Fiction, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:15:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27160997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WarblyZombie/pseuds/WarblyZombie
Summary: Quinn has trained for this, to be a Guardian against the shadows. But she isn't the only one. Training within the elite Haven Academy, she'll meet various faces with various stories. There's more to being a Guardian than just the dream of being a hero. And there's more danger than she could have ever forseen.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 2





	1. The Beginning

It was another day, another battle simulation. This one was going to be different though. We were told that today would contain somewhat of a boss fight. Right now, we were all in the locker rooms, getting our gear ready. It was cold, dimly lit, and awkward as any locker room. The lockers were lined up, side by side. Some of the other girls were chatting as they changed while I was just focused on strapping on the last of my gear. It wasn't like I was friends with any of them. Especially not...

As I put on my armor, shoulder pads and all, _she_ walked by. Eclipse. The biggest slacker of our group. She winked one steel gray eye at me when she looked my way and left with a smirk. _She’s such a bother to me._ Always cocky and a show boat. She never listens to orders and is always late for training. She's such a-  
  
"Quinn, why do you let her get to you like that?" As if reading my thoughts, the familiar, noble accent hit my ears. 

It was Nix, one of the few trainees I got along with. She was a meek but strong woman. A small stature but that just helped make her quicker than the rest of us. Maybe it also had something to do with her mutation, which gave her fox ears atop her head, blending in perfectly with her long, rose-red hair. Along with whatever other traits the mutation gave her. 

She wore her same old battered chest plating, pauldrons, and shin guards with boots. Each piece was a maroon color with a dark, gold trim. The only real color that popped out on her were her forest green eyes and pale skin. _With how much time she runs around outside, you’d think she’d be tanner._  
  
Pulling back from my thoughts, I replied,"I do _not_ let her get to me." She simply rolled her eyes in response.

  
"You _absolutely_ do. You are always glaring her down and fussing over her." This was a conversation she had started with me before. I kept explaining how I just like things to go smoothly and according to plan. I didn’t think that was too much to ask for.  
  
"Because she never listens! And she always runs off from the group, showing off by taking on every enemy. And-"  
  
But Nix cut me off,"Fuuuussiiiiiing." And with a sarcastic, scolding finger wag, she went off towards the training simulator.

  
I groaned in annoyance and slipped on my boots. I slammed my locker door shut with a little more force than necessary, and headed off towards the simulator.  
  


  
The room was a large, white dome structure. There were some platforms and obstacles in the room that the simulation would usually work into its environment. It was different every time with the room constantly changing and shifting. The other students and I gathered at the entrance of the room as the simulation booted up. It appeared hazy and glitched for a moment before coming into full focus. The sound of it activating was a series of long “boops” as Nix put it. 

A lush forest materialized around us, overtaking the borders of the bland dome. It looked so real, as if it truly went on for miles. A simulated breeze blew through the green leaves of trees, as well as the long grass. I could feel it along my face and in my hair coming in one big gust as the simulation was fully loaded. It carried an earthy scent. I could hear birds and a running stream in the distance. Even the sunshine felt real in its warmth and glare, warming my skin and making me squint to block the light from my eyes. _These simulations were truly spectacular._  
  
"Your objective is to clear out this area before your time is up," I was snapped out of my reverie by the stern voice of our headmistress. "Teamwork and cooperation are expected, as always," it boomed over the hidden speakers. "Begin." It was always creepy to hear her voice like that while in simulation.  
  
We all stayed close together, careful in our movements. There was no telling what was packed into each session. It was always a surprise to keep us on our toes. The sound of feet on moist dirt was the only thing one could hear for some time. That, and the small clinking and rustling of various armors.

Each of us branded our own, unique weapons for whatever would attack us. Some had swords, war hammers, scythes, staffs, axes, energy guns, the list goes on and on. My weapon? I carried a scythe myself. Reaper's Edge. It was about my height at its full extension. The base color was a blood red with a pure black trim. The handle could retract if I wanted it to, but I preferred it this way. It had other hidden features as well. 

And what is it that we were clearing out with this weaponry? We were expected to clear out the captured Shadow Beasts that were put here as a part of training. It was our future to be the guardians against these monsters that terrorized the masses. That's why we train. We push ourselves. We handle these simulations like profess-  
  
Before I could even finish the thought, there was the dark haired menace jumping from simulated tree branch to simulated tree branch, almost as if on cue. Eclipse ran through with no regard to stealth, alerting several shadows. I could see their eyes glaring at us as everyone readied their weapons.  
  
"What are you doing?!" I yelled. Stealth was already out the window. "Are you trying to fail us?!"  
  
She simply looked back at me with another smirk and another wink. Those dark gray eyes had a glint to them that warned of no good to come. She jumped down from the branch she was on and pulled out her dagger, a blade almost as dark as the shadows themselves with a silver hilt. She sliced through one shadow beast, a luna. It had dark black fur, like all shadow beasts, and its bones protruded out of its back, along its spine. Large claws extended from all four paws, like knives, as it stalked around on them. Its tail was ragged, as the fur came to its end. And its skull shown from its snout and up to its pointy ears, barren of any of the inky fur. They looked demonic, but that’s just the kind of monsters they were.  
  
Eclipse had only wounded the one she had slashed at. The luna snapped at her, growling and leaning down on its front two paws. It looked ready to pounce, murder in its glowing red eyes. Eclipse straightened herself out from her landing and got into fighting position. With one quick glance, I could see another luna hiding within the trees, ready to lunge at her.  
  
“Curse it all," I spat. I split from the group as they began fighting off the other shadows. As they all spread out in formation, I ran off to help Eclipse. I cut through the second luna with my scythe as the thing was in mid-air, severing it in half. Its body turned to dust, scattering onto the ground and on me. _Gross_ .  
  
"Do you have a death wish?! This may be a simulation but these are still real shadows!" I turned and yelled at her as she sliced through the air, trying to get a hit on the luna.  
  
She just smirked again. "I'm just having fun. We've done these simulations, how many times? I'm basically a pro." The luna finally made a move to bite at her leg, but Eclipse jumped up and off of its head. She stabbed it in the back as she landed and it turned to dust.  
  
I just rolled my eyes,"Then explain why I had to kill the other one for you?"  
  
She looked at the dust pile past my shoulder and shrugged. "I totally could've handled that."  
  
"You're such an annoyance! Would you just take this seriously, for once?" I walked off to join the others as she just huffed behind me. I had no idea where she was heading next but it's not like it was my problem. I had no responsibility over her recklessness.  
  
A few of the other students had cleared out the other shadows before we finally reached the other side of the dome. Though the simulations were truly amazing, the edges still showed behind the veil. I could faintly see the structure before it was blocked from my view. 

Before us now stood another shadow beast. This one towered over us, its maw was twisted in such a way that it looked like it was grinning at us. Its eyes glowed red as it bared those teeth at us and stood up on its hind legs, raising its massive claws. As all other shadows, it was pure black with bone sticking out in some places. Shadows always had jutting bones that took a pattern almost like armor. Plates of it covering the top of their heads, their chests, and along their arms and legs. This one was just like that. Its torso seemed to outsize its own legs, making it a wonder as to how it was standing up. The beast didn’t take an animalistic form like most others. It was just a twisted formation of darkness.  
  
"It's a berzerker!" one of the other students called out.

_Just what I needed today._ One of its lanky, muscled arms swung out and knocked the poor girl onto her back. She hit the ground with a thud and groan but was lucky to not get sliced by the claws. I guess you could say those claws jutted from hands, but it honestly looked like the arms just ended in stubs with blades jammed in.

Others were already firing their long range weapons while those with short range tried to find an opening in its defense. Nothing was fazing this thing as it shrugged off each hit. _We need a better plan than just randomly hitting it_.

“Nix!” I called out. She rushed over to my side.

“Have a plan, Quinny dear?”

“Maybe,” I replied. “Wanna bring out your new toy?” An excited smile instantly spread across her face and she did a little jump of joy.

Nix's usual weapons were a falchion and circular shield, called Thorn and Doomguard. The two were colored the same as her armor and a deadly combo. But she'd been building up a new weapon for such an occasion as this. She sheathed her sword and put her shield onto her back as she pulled the new weapon out from behind her. This one she called Barrage. It was an incendiary cannon gun. It had a short, snubbed barrel with a large, circular ammo stock behind it. She loaded up her fire rounds into it and took aim, going down on one knee to keep steady. I was excited to see how this would work.

The first shot went out with a _thoomp_ and hit the berzerker in the ribs. The shot burned a hole into its skin, leaving the rib cage beneath visible and the black flesh dripping down. It looked over to us and let out a high-pitched screech. Nix made another shot, _thoomp_ , this time striking its head. More flesh burned off and there was a crack in its skull plating. Now, it was enraged. The berzerker knocked over a group of students that were too close, and charged towards us.

“Uh, Nix…” I didn't want her still on the ground firing if this thing charged us. It made a loud, thudding noise as it ran. Making the ground shake with each step taken.

“Relax, relax. I've got this,” she took another shot, hitting the beast in the neck. The inside of its throat was now visible. I could see black globs sliding down its throat and bits of its spine. It was still charging towards us but it seemed to have slowed down. Nix got up and backed off, firing one last shot into the berzerker's chest, earning her another angry screech.

“Well, that wasn't very posh. Any other ideas?” Nix asked me as she put away her gun and pulled back out her sword and shield. I honestly thought that the gun would work. But it only punctured the monster.

“Uhh…” As I stumbled for an answer, a dark form flashed past me and towards the beast. It… was Eclipse. Of course it was Eclipse.

She flicked out her dagger, making the hilt and blade extend. Electricity started to course through the weapon as she leaped through the air and stuck the blade into the creature's shoulder. She hung onto the handle as the beast shrieked in pain, electricity now coursing through its body. It thrashed back and forth, trying to knock her loose, but she held an iron grip onto the handle. I could see sparks pass through it like currents.

“Eclipse, are you trying to get yourself killed?!” I yelled out. She didn't seem to hear me, too preoccupied now with trying to climb on the freaking beast's back. 

The rest of our group had already decided to stop attacking the monster, instead choosing to find cover from it. 

All the while, Eclipse was now piggybacking on the berzerker, still gripping onto her weapon.

“Sooo, do you have any ideas?” I asked Nix, “Because I've got nothing.”

She simply smirked at me and readied her falchion and shield. The falchion caught fire and spikes came out from the front of the shield as she activated the two. 

“Time to join the party.”

She ran off towards the berzerker, side stepping as it swung out an arm. She sliced at it with her sword and burned into its forearm. I couldn't believe these two. That thing was twice our size and they were attacking it with abandon!

“Well, better than doing nothing…” I readied up my scythe and went to join them. The shadow was too distracted by Eclipse and Nix to pay too much attention to me. I took this opportunity to flank its left side, swiping at its leg and cutting off a chunk of it. It howled in pain and instinctively lashed at me. I jumped to my side to dodge it. Except a few scratches, I was still intact.

I hadn't realized but the creature had toppled over, it was now in a kneeling position as its leg was no longer able to support it. Before any further moves were made towards it, Eclipse pulled out her blade from its back and brought it back down through the crack in its skull. The sound was like someone popping their back but 10x worse. It turned to dust in seconds, dropping her back to the ground with a surprisingly graceful landing. _Pfft. It was only a few feet off the ground anyway_.

The simulation around us disappeared, pixelating away as if little square panels were flipping. And we were back in the dome.

I walked over to Eclipse, fuming.

“What was that?!” I yelled at her, “We're supposed to work together!”

She looked to me and smirked. “We did work together. Your friend there distracted it,” Nix flipped her off at that, “And we took it down together. Teamwork.”

“She is somewhat right this time, Quinn,” Nix still seemed annoyed at her work being dismissed and huffed, “Even if more coordination would have been nice.” 

At that moment, a set of automatic double doors slid open into the dome and our headmistress walked in. Everyone, even those that had been knocked over and dazed, stood to attention.

“You all have completed your final simulation,” she began in her regular authoritative, modulated voice. “Though it was not quite as orderly as I expected.” I shot a quick glare to Eclipse who only stuck her tongue out in response.

Our headmistress continued to speak, “Get plenty of rest and more practice in, students. Your next training session shall be in the Dark Forest. The environment and shadow beasts will not be controlled there. It is also where your partners and teams will be decided.”

The rest of our group began whispering to each other animatedly. This is what we have been leading up to. Soon enough, we'd be able to go out on _actual_ missions. This was so exciting and-

“Ooh, maybe we'll be on a team together, _Quinny_ ,” Eclipse whispered in my ear behind me. Her voice reverberating off of it and her breath tickling my skin, setting off my senses. _Uhd_ , I just ask for five minutes without her bothering me. I turned to face her.

“As if I'd be on a team with you,” I retorted. “You're unorganized, don't follow orders, refuse to work with others, and have no respect for me.”

One of her eyebrows quirked up but she seemed genuinely surprised. “I do respect you,” was her only reply.

Before I could even shoot back at her, someone came running up and hugged me from behind.

“We get to be on a team together!” It was Nix. She moved around to be in front of me, she was all smiles and giddiness. “This is brilliant! We finally get to be on real missions together like we've talked about!” She did a little excited hop and her fox ears were perked up. I smiled at her and Eclipse just walked away as we talked. 


	2. A Rock and a Hard Place

**Nix**

The next day, we were led out into a clearing that overlooked the Dark Forest. We were on top of a steep ledge and at the edge there were glowing, metal pads, all of varying colours.

“What you see before you are teleportation pads,” our headmistress spoke, “Each will teleport you to its corresponding pad that is located somewhere within the forest. Once there, your goal is to find a target item and get it safely to the rendezvous point somewhere in the center. You will not miss it when you see it, believe me. The items themselves will be in satchels. Do. Not. Open them,” she added in a serious tone as she paced in front of us, looking us all in the eyes.

“Along the way, your teammates will be chosen. Whoever you find first will be your new partner, so adapt to their fighting style quickly. The teams will then be composed of four people, which will be decided later. But, your partner will be whoever you find first.” 

“What if we don't find anyone else?” a student with spiky, neon green hair asked.

Our headmistress smiled, “Trust me, you will. Good luck, everyone.”

With that, we were all allowed to choose the pad we'd travel on. Some rushed in front of others, even going so far as to shove. Others kept an unhurried pace while I did a light jog, catching up to Quinn as she walked.

“We have _got_ to find each other first. Maybe we should have a special signal? Perhaps a bird chirp?” I started to mimic a bird chirping, then cawing. The sides of her mouth quirked up. Maybe I'd get a laugh out of her one of these days.

“It's fine. We'll find each other, I'm sure,” Quinn smiled at me as she stepped onto a teleportation pad, “See you on the other side.” She did a small, two finger salute and dissipated on the teleporter.

I followed suit and was surrounded by dark trees within seconds. 

*** 

I walked off of the teleportation pad and then jogged off. _Gotta find Quinn. Gotta find Quinn,_ I kept thinking. _I don't have a clue about these other people!_ _They are all absolute strangers to me._ Not too sure I would like any of them. Eclipse is enough of a pain in the arse and I haven't been too social with the others. I just sighed and slowed back to a walk.

I looked around, surrounded by trees and other foliage. This place was called the Dark Forest for a reason. All of the bark was a dark, smokey grey. The leaves on everything were an inky black. The very ground I walked upon was barren with dead patches of grass. Nothing besides the beasts could flourish here. An old myth circulates the academy about how this place was cursed. Plunged into this darkness and death because of some spiteful spirit. But I always thought it was just because of the presence of the shadow beasts themselves. There were plenty of old tales told that were just rubbish.

I tried to imitate a bird song as I went along. I knew it was too silly of an idea for Quinn to go along with, never a time of fun for that girl. But I really had no other plans in mind.

Suddenly, I heard rustling from some bushes nearby. I paused.

“Quinn?” 

I walked towards it. Maybe she heard the bird calls? Before even reaching the bushes, a dark figure jumped out at me. It was an alpha luna, much larger than normal lunas, and it had its teeth bared at me. 

I brought out Thorn and Doomguard as the thing closed the distance between us. I smacked it backwards right when it pounced. It growled low and then let out a howl, summoning its pack. Three more emerged from the dreadful dark, all growling with resentment. As the three new beasts joined their leader, I realized they had me cornered. Only my backside was left uncovered, but I wouldn't dare turn away from them or try to outrun them. Even with my speed, they would catch me.

My fox ears twitched as I heard something behind me, right as it dropped down next to me. I was ready to attack whatever it was but... it wasn't another shadow. It was another student, a woman. 

Her hair was pure, snow white and cut short, just reaching her neck. She had light, chestnut skin, and her eyes glimmered gold as she stared down the beasts. I couldn't see the rest of her face underneath the red bandana mask she had on. I couldn't see much of anything as she pulled out a naginata- just a speary sword in my mind- and rushed the alpha in the center. She swung at it, cutting its nose. The other lunas seemed gobsmacked before recovering and closing in on her. I had to help my daring savior _somehow._

“Hey! I'm still here you mutts!” I clashed my falchion against my shield, drawing their attention. Only two of them seemed to care enough to abandon their leader. The other one stayed in position as the rest now rushed me.

I rolled to the right side of one as it charged. I hopped back onto my feet, just in time to catch the snarling teeth of the other shadow on my shield. It whimpered as a fang broke off from the impact. Blood now trickled down its chin as it growled at me. Both beasts had me flanked again. 

I activated Thorn, bringing out its flames. One luna finally pounced at me and met the slice of my blade. I had cut it across its face and it howled in pain from the burn that came with. The fur that surrounded the cut was singed off. As it staggered back, the one with a missing fang took its place. This one was more reckless from seeing its pack mate hurt. It leaped up and gave me a clear path to its underbelly. I stabbed right through it with Thorn and it turned to dust, making the flames of the sword sizzle.

I smirked at my handiwork until I felt a painful sting in my leg. The other shadow had clamped its teeth around my calf without me noticing. Well, until it bit me, that is. _Duh!_

I cried out in pain as it dug its teeth in deeper and tried to yank me to the ground. I was losing my footing, trying to play tug-of-war with this bastard while trying to get it off of me. It was determined, taking each swing of my sword as if it was nothing. The beast was littered with cuts now. I tried to make it loosen its grip without burning myself with my sword. It just dug deeper and deeper, my panic made me all the more aware of the pain I was in.

Out of seemingly nowhere, it was whacked on the head with a big stick. It’s jaw clamped down a bit more, making me yelp from its teeth ripping into me. Its red eyes rolled back in its head as it fell over, turning to dust. I looked over and realized that the big stick had been the white haired woman’s naginata. I also saw that she had already taken down the alpha and other luna.

Before she even spoke, I blurted out,”I swear, I’m not useless! It just got my leg and-” she cut me off with a raise of her hand.

“Doesn’t matter. How’s your leg?” Her voice was flat and husky. She slid the bandana off her face to hang around her neck, and looked down at my wound, inspecting it. It wasn’t in the best shape. It was still bleeding, hurt like hell, and I’d definitely be limping for a while. But hey, I wasn’t going to lose a limb and I was still alive!

“I’ll be fine. Just not as fast,” was my simple reply. “My name is Nix, by the way. And thank you... for saving me” I held out my hand. She looked at it for a second, as if debating, and hesitantly took it, as if she'd never experienced a handshake before.

“Xena. Nice to meet you, Nix. Now, we should get moving, we need to get those items, and get to the rendezvous point,” she started walking ahead.

“We?”

“You are my partner now, remember?”

“Oh, right…” 

_Dammit, Quinn! Where are you?_

  
  


***

**Quinn**

_I have been walking through this forest for what feels like an hour._ I thought to myself. _I haven't seen a single shadow, item case, or Nix anywhere. I had to have chosen the worst possible teleporter._

"No. It's no matter. Learn and adapt," I spoke to myself, being truly restless.

What I have learned is that I am all alone with no idea where I'm going.

Calculating which direction to go was more difficult as the foliage blotted out the sun. Only small patches of light made it through, just enough to see my surroundings clearly. But without seeing which way the sun was rising from, meaning no telling directions, I might as well have been in complete darkness.

As I trudged on, there was a sudden rustle in the trees before I was pounced on. The weight knocked me to the ground and onto my stomach. My arms were pinned down on either side of me. _I couldn't move!_ I struggled with all I had in me, expecting teeth to sink into me at any moment. I kept trying to pry my right arm loose, just to grab my scythe. Any attempts were thwarted with more pressure put down. upon my wrist.

“Calm down, it's just me,” the familiar voice spoke into my ear.

“ **Eclipse** ?! No! No no no no. Go away! Get off of me!” I was _not_ going to be partnered up with her. I continued my wriggling as both of her legs were kneeled on either side of me, and her hands were now pushing down on my back. _There was no way she was stronger than me!_

“That's not how this works… partner,” her voice dripped with self-satisfied smugness. I could _feel_ the smirk she had.

“I want _Nix_ as my partner. Not _you!”_

She huffed at this, I think she even growled a bit. “Well, Nix isn't here. I am, _Quinny_. And according to the rules, that makes me your partner. You wouldn’t want to break the rules now, would you?” She got off of me and stood to my side with one hip cocked to the side as her hands rested on both.

_Darn it._ I was always a good student, following the rules, and now I was kicking myself for it. There would be no getting out of this, even if I could bring myself to lie to the headmistress and professors. Maybe Nix even bumped into someone else by now. I groaned and got back up.

“You better not slow me down. Got it?”

I started walking off and she skipped behind me. _This girl was unbelievable and I swear she did this on purpose just to annoy me._

I was suddenly dreading the rest of my time here. These partnerships and teams lasted throughout our training, possibly throughout _life._ This was not happening to me…

***

We wandered through the trees and foliage until we reached a waterfall running down a cliff in front of us. It wasn't very high up. A possible and quick climb if there was anything to grip on to. At first glance, there was nothing much to it.

"Look, I can see a satchel up top!" Eclipse pointed upwards and sure enough, there it was. It was oddly shaped, with whatever was inside making the sides bulge.

"Race you to it!" And with that, Eclipse dashed off towards the waterfall.

"Wait! How are you even going to climb up there?!" I shouted after her. She either didn't hear me or didn't care as she continued on.

The waterfall itself seemed out of place in the forest. It wasn't black, or dark, or even murky. The water looked pristine, pure, and clean. I still wouldn't take the risk of drinking it, though, no matter how thirsty I was.

The ground and rock around the area was still dark, but the water glistened against it like glass. 

Eclipse reached the rock and started grasping on to begin her climb. She paused. There was a low, rumbling sound and the ground started to shake. I could feel the vibration of it beneath my feet, almost like an earthquake. Then, there was a loud, scraping sound. Like nails against rock. Something started emerging from the ground. Something big.

It clawed itself out of the ground. I could see now that the top of its head and shoulders had looked like simple boulders, a camouflage of sorts. And it was right next to Eclipse. She backed off as it continued to get up from the crack in the ground that it had hid in. It set its legs up on solid ground as we watched it in stunned awe. It had blended right in with its black exterior, shining like cut obsidian. It was a walking boulder, towering over us at twice our size.

Like any other shadow, its eyes glowed red, the color amplified by its solid, smooth covering. It looked like flowing lava, little fires, were etched across its body. Its claws started to glow a burning orange.

"It's a goliath," Eclipse had said this more to herself than to me. We both stayed stunned until it let out an ear-shattering roar. 

It raised a single, swollen arm and a fireball formed between its claws.

"Run!" I shouted and ran for cover. It threw the fire right past me as I ducked behind a boulder. I couldn't see where Eclipse went at all until I spotted her on the other side of the monster. It formed another fireball in its hand and launched it at her. She jumped to the side, just barely dodging it.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" she cursed as she tried to gain distance away from the goliath.

I pulled out my scythe, ready to attack. Charging in, I took a swing but was smacked away like I was a fly. The world around me spun as I tumbled back, only stopping when I collided with a tree.

I shook my head, trying to clear it. _Okay. Bad idea. Headache._

"Eclipse! We need to submerge it in water!" It was suddenly hard to yell or to hear my own voice. Had I even said anything?

I must have as her eyes shot open at the realization and they trailed to the waterfall and pool beneath it. A smirk quickly crossed her features.

"You stay put! I can handle this!" She started to sprint again as she yelled.

"Absolutely no-" before I could even finish, I collapsed back down at the base of the tree.

_First real battle and I'm useless!_

My head was still dizzy and my vision was blurred. All I could make out was the vague shape of Eclipse, weapon drawn, and running towards the goliath.

I could hear her yelling and the roar of the beast, but it was all dulled down as if my head had been dunked under water.

"You bastard!" My hearing came back as Eclipse slashed at the stone monster's maw. Her blade made a _chink_ sound as it collided with rock, merely grazing it.

"Just get to the waterfall! There's no way you could pierce it!" I yelled, which was getting more difficult to do.

" _Trying_ to," was her response as she changed course towards the water pool. The goliath was close behind, barreling after her. It spewed liquid fire and some of the flames caught onto Eclipse. She winced but kept her pace. Her combat boots touched down on the edge, her feet splashing through the shallow end of the pool. 

"Come get me, you colossal dick!" She yelled at the beast as she waded waist deep in the water. It became weary and distant as she had started her walk into the water. I tried getting up again, this time with better results. There was still a pounding ache in my head but I ignored it. I picked up my scythe and made my way over the best I could. The goliath had its full attention fixated on Eclipse, who continued mocking it.

Once she saw me up and moving, however, her eyes widened. "What are you doing?! You're still hurt! I said stay put!" She sounded less angry than actually concerned, a surprising thing to witness. I ignored any pleas she made for me to stay out of the fray as the goliath spotted me. _Not what I intended._

Any swing at it only left scratches. I dodged fiery fists, rolling out of the way, still dizzy from the hit.

Eclipse came running in, trying to sink her blade into any chink in its armored exterior. It breathed fire at her. I could see through the fog in my vision as she jumped to the side, bits of her clothes getting scorched.

"Son of a bitch!" She yelled, as she quickly patted out the tiny flames from her shirt.

I planned on pushing back at the monster and into the pool. The question was, how do you move a mountain?

_I can't possibly have the strength for this._ I hit a trigger, releasing the blade of my scythe to hang from its chain. _Can I?_ I grumbled to myself. I might as well make this partnership work.

"Eclipse! Take the blade of my scythe!"

She was at least close enough that I could toss it to her. Luckily, she caught it, too. The last thing I needed was mistakes while doing this.

"What's the plan, miss hero?" Even in dire situations she could be smirking and still mocking me. 

I ran a bit to my right as another fireball was thrown at me.

"Wrap around its legs!" I yelled, still unsure of this plan. I started to run a circle around the beast, avoiding any flames. Eclipse hesitated for a moment, but started doing the same. 

The goliath spun around, trying to keep us in its sights. We both yanked on the chain in unison, tightening it around the beast's legs. It roared in disapproval and tried to move from its spot.

"Ram it into the water!" This was _so_ going to hurt. We both ran towards it at top speed, throwing ourselves against it as hard as we could. Its exterior burned, I could feel it scorching my skin. But it showed results as the walking lava rock tumbled backwards, right into the waterpool. Steam billowed up as a loud hiss sounded from the water. There was no clear sign if the monster was defeated. There was no sound but the water resisting against the heat.

"I think-I think we got it," Eclipse panted out. As the steam dissipated, it was clear that she was right. The glow from the beast's skin was gone, all fires put out, and its eyes went dead and dark.

It turned to dust, contaminating the fresh water. One thing I hadn't considered in my plan. It was somewhat sad. The one pure thing in this dead forest, tainted by the seeping darkness that surrounds it. Maybe it will be clear again, one day.

"And now for that satchel," Eclipse spoke up as she rubbed her hands together. She was covered in soot and burn marks. Her gray tank top had holes in it, as well as her pants. She started to walk her way back towards the waterfall, ready to make the climb up.

"I still don't think that's safe. Especially after the fight we just had. Aren't you exhausted?" I had to admit that I was ready to sit back against one of these trees and nap. It was dark enough with the trees still blotting out the sun.

"Aw, you really do care, princess," she turned back and sent a wink my way, still walking towards the cliff side. I huffed. _Princess_? The nerve- 

I watched as she started her climb again. She was surprisingly agile and found footholds with ease. She actually reached the top, grabbing and holding the satchel triumphantly above her head.

"Got it!" I rolled my eyes as she climbed back down. I would say it seemed too simple, but considering what we just fought, I wouldn't dare.

_Now, to find the rendezvous point. And maybe Nix._


	3. In This Together, Regrettably

"Hey, why the long face? We got the satchel. It certainly wasn't _easy,_ but we got it!" Eclipse excitedly waved around the bag as I griped. _I hope Nix had better luck._

"Ooooh, I wonder what's in it!" 

The satchel itself was rather… bulgey… The material was worn, green cloth, and it looked like it could burst with whatever was inside it. 

"Waaaaanna open it?" Eclipse shot me a mischievous look, waggling her eyebrows, as she waved the bag once more. 

"Absolutely not. We were instructed not to open it until we reached the rendezvous point," my look towards her was stern and set in stone. My day didn't need to go any further south than it already had. I was still covered in bruises, soot, and burns.

"C'mon, I know you're curious about what's inside. Who'll even know if we check?" The woman pouted at me as she whined. I swear, she was like a child being denied a toy.

"I'll know," I spoke in a tone of finality. I _really_ didn't need any more problems today. I kept walking ahead but heard a zipping sound behind me. _She did not just-_

"I said not to open the bag!" I yelled, almost hysterically. She looked startled for a second, but continued on.

"You don't have to look, but I want a peek! The mystery of it all is making me antsy," she put on a pouting face again, as if to gain my sympathy. _No. Not happening._ She kept her grip on the open bag, with fingers still wrapped around the zipper.

"Zip it up, _now_ !" But as I spoke, as she moved the bag just enough, the object tumbled out. Maybe it was overdramatic, but it felt like everything moved in slow motion as it hit the ground. Dirt was kicked up by the impact, dusting around the object. It had landed with a solid _thump._

"Oops…" Eclipse bent down to pick up the object and examined it, flipping it around in her hands. It was like a stone tablet, gray with carved trimming running along the sides. It looked like one half of a shield. There were jagged edges on its right side, as if it had been broken off of something else. Just one half of a whole. 

"Hey, there are symbols carved into it," she pointed to the face of the tablet. It had an intricate compass carved into it at the top, and a crescent moon carved below it. "I wonder what it means. Why this was the object we had to find."

_I wonder too…_

"Alright, you had your peek," I breathed out, faking disinterest. "Now put it back. I don't need any more trouble from you," but I could tell my expression probably wasn't as serious as I made my tone of voice to be.

Still, she replied,"Yes, ma'am," with a mock salute. She stood back up, stuffing the tablet back into the satchel, and we continued on through the dense forest.

***

We were finally overlooking the rendezvous point from a hill not too far away. 

"I kind of imagined something more… not ancient ruin looking," Eclipse commented on the meeting point. It really did look like ancient ruins. The area was a large, circular stone base with broken, stone pillars around it. The entire structure was broken and covered in black vines, as if it had been here for centuries. I could already see other students gathered below, all pairs carrying a similar, bulging satchel as ours.

"Race you down there!" Eclipse gleefully shouted as she broke into a sprint. That woman, I swear… _And she still has the satchel!_

"Wait! I am _not_ running after you!" I shouted scornfully, even as I was already at a jogging pace. _This is ridiculous._ Even at her speed, her footing was careful and concise. Though this was still a stupid and dangerous idea, she seemed to handle it cautiously all the same. Eclipse smiled all the way down, looking back towards me now and then, making sure I was still following behind. _At least she was considerate._

  
  


As we reached the amphitheater-esque area, Eclipse now out of breath, I spotted Nix in the dense crowd. 

" _There_ you are! What took you so long?!" Nix scolded me as she walked in our direction, with a white haired woman in-tow. She looked between me and Eclipse, and I could see her fox ears twitch. She looked between us again. " _Oh,"_ she broke out in a grin and started laughing.

"It is not funny," I spoke through gritted teeth. She still continued to find humor in the situation and giggled at it all.

"This is too great! While I still wish I could have partnered with you, this might be the next best thing," that grin would not leave her face. I looked curiously beside her to the other woman who was carrying their satchel. "Oh! How rude of me. This is Xena! Xena, this is my friend, Quinn and her proclaimed arch rival, Eclipse." Xena gave a greeting bow of her head.

"Well, now I'm known as her beloved partner. Right, princess?" Eclipse spoke while giving a gesture of double finger guns. I simply rolled my eyes at her antics, all while Nix continued to be amused by this. Even Xena cracked a smile at the fox-girl's joy.

"Laugh it up, we still have teams to be assigned to. You could very well get paired up with someone like those two," I pointed in the direction of the neon green haired boy from earlier. He was certainly an interesting character.

He had a black cat tail with a neon green dyed tip swaying happily behind him. His ensemble was the most interesting as he wore a purple crop top, dark green cargo shorts, and purple goggles on top of his head. He was talking to a girl with chestnut-brown hair. 

Her face was splattered with pink and purple face paint across her cheeks and under her dark eyes. She wore a pink, shoulderless, long sleeve shirt with a yellow bunny head on its front. The two dorks matched in energy for colorful outfits. 

The boy was twirling around his staff with a self-impressed grin until he managed to smack himself in the face. He held it in pain, dropping his weapon in the process.The girl began to twirl her bow, as if to show him up, and proceeded to do the same. The two truly shared the same brain cell.

Nix just smiled as she watched them. "They seem like an interesting lot to be around!" She could find the bright side to almost anything, unlike myself. It was a necessity to keep my pessimism in check, but today was nerve-wracking. Nothing had occurred as I so confidently planned...

It was in that moment that Eclipse poked at my cheek. "You have that serious face again."

"Quit it!" I smacked away her hand. She just gave me her signature smirk. It was a look of victory for having gotten a response from me. It was a look I detested.

"You look rubbish, by the way," Nix looked in Eclipse's direction for the most part as she cut into the conversation. 

Eclipse just squinted her eyes in annoyance,"You don't look like sunshine yourself, foxy." She pointed to the red bandana wrapped around Nix's leg. _Where did she get that from? And what happened?_ Light pink dusted Nix's cheeks for a moment at the mention of the bandana. Her eyes shifted quickly to Xena and then to the ground. _I am definitely interrogating her on this later._

  
  


An air horn sounded throughout the ruins, abruptly ending everyone's socializing.. _What a way for them to get our attention._

"Alright, students," the headmistress began,"I am glad to see you all here safely. Now is the time that we will be announcing teams. I would like to ask you all to take the items out of the satchels you retrieved."

All the different pairings unzipped their bags and pulled out the tablets. Others looked upon them with fascination at their engraved symbols, most flipping them around. Their faces were soon casted in light as the tablets' symbols glowed different colors. It was as if a rainbow of glow sticks had been scattered around.

"The glowing color of your tablets will match that of your teammates. So, feel free to search each other out," our headmistress announced.

I looked up to find that Nix and Xena's tablet glowed the same, light blue color as ours.

"Yes! We get to be on the same team! This is so cool!" Nix jumped with joy, her fox ears twitching excitedly. Xena gave a small smile at the girl's reaction. Nix then gave me a jumping hug that almost knocked us both to the ground. 

Once detached, I looked at the symbols on their tablet. It had a leaf with swirling designs as the veins on the upper half and a rising dove below it.

"Look," Eclipse held up our tablet as she spoke, "it looks like they should fit together like puzzle pieces. Wanna try it out and see if more weird, glowy stuff happens?" She looked to me as she asked this, as if waiting for permission. I simply nodded my head. Eclipse held it out to Xena, meeting her halfway. The symbols stopped glowing as the pieces met, the lights traveling to the crack in the center. The light flashed in an instant and died down just as fast. 

"Wow, they're fused together now," Nix spoke under her breath, looking in awe. The crack was barely noticeable, now. The other teams figured this out as flashes of lights occurred all around the amphitheater. This. This was the moment that finalized our teams. I was on a team with Eclipse. And I would be on a team with Eclipse for _4 years._ At least I had Nix…

The woman looked at me and Xena with uncontained joy, making the latter's face light up a bit. I switched attention over to Eclipse, whose eyes quickly darted away, her cheeks flushed and her teeth visibly clenched. _What was her problem? She was the one who wanted to be on a team with me. Now she was angry? I will never understand that woman._

  
  


_******_

The ceremony soon ended, everyone being led to more teleporters which brought us back to the school grounds. Tours would have to wait until later, as everyone was exhausted from the day's fighting. 

Teams were assigned to connected rooms. The usual set up would be four bedrooms connected to a little hallway that went out to the circular commons area. Bathrooms were communal, as well as a modest kitchen area that was located near the commons area of each hall. This space would be occupied by two teams. Our team's setup was… slightly different and unpleasant for me…

"Due to some halls still not being quite up to date, your team cluster will be a two bedroom with two beds in each," our tour guide, a senior girl, informed us. "I'm really sorry you guys…"

Though irritated, I was not going to take out my frustrations on this innocent woman. Nix and Xena didn't seem to mind. But, due to partnerships, this only meant I was sharing a room with Eclipse. She didn't seem to care in the slightest as she unpacked her things on her side of the room. The room was big enough that we wouldn't get in each other's way, at least. 

I set down my duffle bag and suitcase on my bed to the left, near the door to the living room. Eclipse hummed some song as she put her clothes away in the closet on her side of the room. _Sharing a room with her for possibly 4 years?_ This was going to take a lot of effort to get through. I wondered if we'd even be able to get along. It seemed at least semi-possible to do so from the team selection ceremony.

Eclipse hung up various posters of different rock bands and shows. It was mostly anime, which surprised me. _She actually likes anime too?_ I decided to keep my posters tucked away in my bag. I had planned to have my own, private room...

I set down a framed photo of me and my dad, lastly. It was a picture he absolutely begged to take before sending me off to the academy. In it, he had his arm rested on my shoulder and was smiling brightly. He had a mess of blonde hair, the same shade as mine, and a short-cut beard. One of his eyes was shut in a wink, the one that had a scar stretching over it and down his cheek. He never would tell me how he got it.

  
  


"Finally finished!" I breathed out, tired from unpacking everything.

"About time," Eclipse spoke from her bed. She sat up, looking over my side of the room. "Ooh, is that a photo with you _smiling_? I didn't think you were capa-" she paused. Her eyes landed onto the rest of the photo and her eyes widened, before taking on a sad look.

"What? What's wrong?" I looked back at the photo. Before I could further question it, a knock came at the door.

Xena poked her head in and looked to the two of us, "Nix wanted me to get you two. It's almost dinner time." Eclipse was quick to follow the other woman out the door. I took one last look at the photo. _What is it about that photo?_

Before catching up to the other two, I saw a shield now by our door. It had the symbols from the tablet we found engraved into it, as well as the crack in the center.

_We're officially a team now._


	4. With Friends Like These?

The cafeteria was a large dining hall with an arching ceiling. Columns and stained glass windows lined the walls. This building had to be one of the oldest on school grounds, having the same, less broken, appearance as the ruins from the forest. The place was bustling with activity as students milled around and socialized.

Xena led us through the room and to one of the lunch tables. 

"Quinn! Eclipse! Happy you could make it," Nix happily greeted us. She had changed out of her usual armor and into more casual clothes. She wore a long sleeved, red shirt and faded blue jeans, now. We sat down beside her on the bench when I noticed the other guests at our table. _Oh no. People._

There was the green-haired, cat-tailed boy from earlier. He currently munched away at a large bowl of noodles, stuffing his cheeks like a chipmunk. 

The girl he shared a braincell with was sitting next to him, taking more delicate bites of her sandwich. It was only then that I noticed her small, pointed ears. _Huh. Another Variant._

Next to the pair was the other half of their team. One of them was a boy with an undercut, jet-black hair with a dark blue, messy tuft on top. His bright orange eyes shined with glee, the left eye marred by a burn scar. He looked content with the others and his food. The boy smiled as he noticed us joining the group.

The last person in the line-up was a woman with platinum-blonde hair that ended in red tips. As she looked up at us, I noticed her emotionless, red eyes. She never looked back up from her food as the others began introducing themselves.

The cat-tailed boy waved excitedly at us. "Hi! I'm Sage!" He spoke with food still stuffed into his cheeks. 

"Sage! I told you not to talk with your mouth full. It's rude," the pointy-earred woman scolded. "Sorry about him, he means well. I'm Hazel by the way." She gave us a small smile as Sage pouted at her, his cat tail swishing behind him. 

The blue-haired boy next to Hazel tugged on her sleeve to get her attention."Oh, and this is Damari. He can't speak but he's really sweet when you get to know him." Damari smiled at this, with a pink tint on his cheeks. _I would die for this precious child._

"And I'm Aurora," the red-eyed woman that looked ready for murder spoke in a brusque tone. "I'm Damari's twin sister." 

The relation was somewhat distinct. The burn mark on Damari's face and the scar across Aurora's nose made it more difficult to realize, but it was there. Though, Damari looked like a precious cinnamon roll while Aurora gave off the same mood as a water soaked cat. Even with a mouth full of pizza she looked vicious.

Damari started using hand signs, looking in my direction. The confused look on my face must have been obvious. Aurora held up a finger in response to my 'Uh..' and swallowed what she had been eating. 

"He asked if you were the one to take down the berzerker on the last day of preliminaries."

"Actually!" Eclipse cut into the conversation, throwing an arm around my shoulders, "It was a team effort! We make a great pair, after all."

Damari's smile reached his ears, obviously amused, while his twin kept eating, unaffected by the interaction. 

I elbowed Eclipse in the ribs and she released me, sticking her tongue out at me in retaliation. 

  
  


Eclipse and I sat back down with the others after grabbing some food. Socializing with them pushed away some of the anxieties I had earlier. Sage even shared his story of how he was partnered up with Hazel.

"And there I was, face to face with a lone alpha luna, when Hazel ran up and leap kicked it in the face!" 

"I mean, I had to save him. But I regretted it as I thought, 'Damn, now I'm stuck with the crop-top guy.'" Hazel gave an impish smirk as Sage feigned offense.

"I'll have you know, I look great in this crop-top!" 

"You don't even have the abs to pull it off!"

"So? I like the breezy comfort! I'm a very warm bodied boy."

"I think Xena would be better off with it, since she actually has muscles," Nix absentmindedly commented. She paused after speaking. Her face turned red, her eyes widened, and her fox ears pinned back as she finally registered that she had said that out loud. 

Xena let out a huff of a laugh, "I wear a tank top for a reason." She had a playful smirk as she flexed one arm. It was in that moment that I believed Nix nearly died, just based off the look on her face. Her jaw dropped and her face turned a whole new shade of red. Even I had to laugh a bit at the two of them.

  
  


Friendly conversation easily took over the group until we were eventually kicked out as the dining hall closed.

Heading back to the dorms, we found that we shared the same commons area. And they were stuck in the same setup as us.

Damari signed that he at least wasn't sharing a bedroom with his sister anymore.

"Still stuck with me, little man," Sage laughed and ruffled the hair on top of Damari's head. The boy fixed his hair as Sage just beamed at him, like an older brother teasing a sibling.

_Maybe this can all work out, after all,_ I thought to myself. We all exchanged contact information before heading back to our dorms and I couldn't help the smile on my face. I turned from the group and there was Eclipse, staring at me with a small smile. She quickly looked away once I saw her. I just shrugged it off. 

We had to get to bed since classes would be starting tomorrow. Further education was still required for guardians in training.

One last look around the dorm, a look around our shared bedroom, and the reality of being there started to sink in. _This was home now. And these were the people I would be with._

I drifted off to sleep, watching Eclipse play games on her data-pad. 

  
  



	5. First Day

**Eclipse**

There was a loud, shrieking noise that filled the room. I flipped over onto my other side to see Quinn's alarm going off. _It was only 6 am!_

I groaned and buried my head beneath my pillow, trying to muffle the sound. "Turn that thing off! Class doesn't start for another 3 hours!" 

I could hear her get up and click it off. _Finally. Peace._

"Just because we don't have class until 9, doesn't mean we should sleep in so late." I heard her open up her closet door and rustle around for clothes. 

"Doesn't mean you have to wake _me_ up so early, either," I mumbled back at her.

"Hey, you wanted me as your partner. Now, get up. I can already hear Nix and Xena up and moving." 

_What did I do to get a team of morning people?_

I flipped back over and looked towards Quinn. She was in her pjs, holding the clothes she picked out, and stepping into the closet. 

"Uh… whatcha doing?" I asked.

"Getting changed."

"In the closet?"

"Yes. I don't want to change in front of you!" She huffed a bit and closed herself into the closet.

I let out a chuckle. "Such a prude."

"I heard that! I like my privacy!" Her yelling was muffled behind the wooden door. She stepped out soon enough in her regular black t-shirt and jeans. 

Her dark, blonde hair was still a bit messy with bed-head. She started gently brushing it in front of her wall-hung mirror. _It looks soft._ She looked zoned-out, not concentrating on the simple task. Her attention snapped back into focus as her sky-blue eyes drifted to my reflection.

"Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Hmm? Nothing. Nothing." I replied, nonchalantly. She just rolled her eyes, set down the brush, and left the room.

_Guess I should get dressed._

  
  


***

Our team met up with team DASH in the dining hall, again. Sage seemed like he was about to use his eggs as a pillow, while the rest of his team seemed wide awake. _Poor boy's stuck with a team of morning people, too._

We greeted them all and sat down after getting our food. 

"Ready for classes today, you guys?" Nix chirped up. A dead-inside groan came from Sage. _Guess his high energy doesn't kick in until noon._

"Ready as can be. I still don't get why we have these classes. How is ancient literature going to help me take down a shadow?" Hazel complained. "I want to _be_ the action and adventure, not read about it!"

"It helps keep our minds sharp and can be useful in the field," of course it was Quinn speaking, "Ancient literature or history, for example, can teach us about the different regions we'll be sent to on missions." _Always the honorary student._ Hazel just grumbled an 'I guess' in response.

"Plus," I started, "you might decide to choose a different career path than frontline Guardian. Especially considering I could kick your ass." I smirked at the look on Hazel's face at that.

Sage, however, perked right up at this. He started sniffing the air in an over exaggerated way. "Is that a challenge I smell?"

"That's probably just the smell of your breath," Aurora teased.

Sage's pep didn't deflate, even though his tail whipped in agitation. "Maybe we should have a little competition."

"What'd you have in mind, bud?" I asked. Even I was interested in where he was going with this.

"Sparring match. Two on two. Partners against partners," the boy challenged. Hazel seemed ecstatic at this idea, obviously painting a target on me for my earlier comment.

"Hey wait, I didn't sign up for this-" Quinn tried to interject, but I cut her off.

"You're on."

***

Our first class as a team began and we all sat in the same row together.

"I still can't believe you volunteered me for a mock fight." Quinn had been pouting about it ever since breakfast.

"I can't believe you're still mad about it. Isn't this a good way to train and get to know each other's fighting styles?"

Quinn still didn't seem impressed by my answer. To be fair, I just didn't want to back down from the challenge. Especially not after opening my big mouth to brag.

She sat right next to Nix and Xena, leaving me at the edge of the long desk. The two of them chatted away while Xena looked content to pour over the class textbook: _Shadow Beasts Across Solaris._ All while our instructor began his lecture.

"Good morning class. It is so good to meet new faces and have the opportunity to teach you all new things." He seemed to be fairly tolerable. Not too eager or trying too hard, but also not a monotone drag. 

"Now," he continued, "I will not put you all through the dreaded ice breakers of stating your name and interests. No one enjoys it, I never did as a student. But as for me, I am Professor Avis."

The man himself was older, looking to be in his 50s, if the gray mess of hair and crows' feet were any sign. He had a little mustache and goatee, almost like a cartoon villain's. The man seemed scrawny, almost feeble beneath his tweed jacket. But what really caught my attention was his heterochromatic eyes. One, a dull brown, but the other was completely black. There was no white to his eye, merely a silver ring around where an iris would be in that void. _Maybe a prosthetic?_

"Now then, since today is the first day, I will simply review what information you probably already learned before coming to this academy," he began. I was already zoning out, my focus drifting over to what Quinn was up to. She was already taking notes over the review. _Truly a teacher's pet._

My thoughts were cut short as Nix leaned forward, looking towards me, and giving me a smug smirk. My eyes widened in shock and I looked away. _Damn fox girl._

I became a bit impatient as classes dragged on, excited for the mock battle against Sage and Hazel. It was a miracle that Quinn was participating, albeit begrudgingly. 

_Maybe she can finally learn to have some fun and loosen up a bit._ I thought to myself.

***

We had scheduled the match for right after our classes, out in the fields within the school grounds. As Quinn and I walked to the field, I could see Sage over-exaggerating his stretching. Hazel, meanwhile, seemed to be looking over her bow. Damari and Aurora had shown up, too, and were sitting on the grass, nearby.

The other half of our team, however, had opted out in favor of going to the library. _It'll still be there to look through after this battle._

"Ready to lose you two?" Sage smirked mischievously as he cracked his knuckles. _Gods, I hate that sound._

"I was ready to ask you the same," I replied. It was all lighthearted fun, even the weak trash talk. 

"So, how're we doing this?" Hazel began to ask. "Weapons or no weapons."

"I say we use the practice weapons from training room, nearby," Quinn stepped forward, using her usual, serious tone. "Since I don't want to have to carry you two to the medical ward," she gave a small smirk. _Did she just-_

"Did you just _trash talk_ ?" I asked in amazement. Even Sage and Hazel looked surprised. Quinn still beamed with a bit of pride. _This girl is full of surprises, I guess._

And so, off we went to get our respective dummy weapons. My sword was padded, and so was Quinn's scythe, and Sage's staff. Hazel had a low-grade bow with arrows that had foam ends. There would be no specialty tricks with these weapons, such as Quinn's retractable chain or my electricity.

"Ready?" Sage spoke as we faced off. Quinn simply nodded her head and I gave a thumbs up. He smirked and charged forward with a yell. The boy leaped into the air and swung downward with his staff, right towards Quinn. She held up her scythe just in time to block the attack with her weapons handle. ( _Is there a proper name for a scythe handle_?)

Meanwhile, an arrow whizzed right past my head, snapping my attention to our other opponent. Hazel smirked mischievously and notched another arrow. _Yep, she has it out for me._

I readied my sword and charged her, focusing on when her next arrow would release. I dodged left just as another arrow flew past and lamely plonked to the ground. 

I swung my sword once I was in range and was blocked by her bow. I jumped back, seeing that Quinn was holding her own, pretty well.

She managed to trip Sage with her scythe, and he fell onto his back with a thud and groan. I let out a small laugh as he gave a thumbs up and a quick, "I'm okay."

  
  


While I was distracted, Hazel had aimed another notched arrow right at me and released it. Before I could even react, it hit my chest and bounced off. _This gives me an idea._

I quickly picked the arrow back up, putting the foam-ball tip back against my chest, and fell to the ground as dramatically as I could. 

"Ack! I've been hit!" I cried out, putting on my best death scene. The others stopped fighting and watched as I acted out my demise.

"Oh no, what have I done," Hazel joined in on the joke. She looked to her bow in mock horror and dropped it to the ground. "I've killed my own friend!"

While Sage was grinning at our antics and sitting back up, Quinn looked like she was trying to suppress a smile or any laughter.

I looked to her, smirking, "Quinn, you must avenged me!" She rolled her eyes at me and pointed her scythe towards Sage.

"Uh, guys, hold up. I think I just saw something in the forest," Sage suddenly spoke up, his eyes focused on the treeline. He was finally back on his feet.

"Sure. You totally aren't just scared of my girl, Quinn, kicking your ass." I chuckled awkwardly at what had just slipped out of my mouth. Especially once Quinn looked questioningly at me. _At least she didn't seem to have heard what I said._

"No, really! It might be a shadow that got through the natural barrier, somehow. C'mon. We should go take care of it before it hurts anyone," Sage's voice had taken on a more serious tone than usual. He started walking towards the surrounding forest. 

The rest of us followed, Aurora and Damari following confusedly and closely behind. We caught up before reaching the treeline, just in time to see a shadowy figure run off, merging with the forest's darkness. Sage jogged over to where the figure had been. There was a girl laying there. And she seemed to have been out cold. 

The girl's dark purple hair splayed out beneath her head. Atop her head sprouted two, dark gray horns. She was visibly pale, covered in sweat, and breathing heavily.

Sage bent down and pointed to her neck. "Guys, look at this." There on her neck was a red, needle mark with blood still oozing out. 

"We need to get her to the medical ward," Quinn spoke up.

Sage cracked his knuckles. _Still hate that._ "Don't worry guys, I got this." 

He looked ready to pick her up before Aurora cut him off. "No you don't." She bent down and picked up the unconscious girl with ease before rushing off to the med ward. _Damn, she's scary strong._

Sage looked shocked and defeated all at once. The rest of us tried to hurry and catch up with Aurora while Hazel pulled Sage along. _That poor boy really does need more muscle under that crop top._

  
  
  


We (by "we", I mean Aurora) finally got the girl to the med ward. Aurora gently laid the girl down onto the closest bed, while Quinn got the attention of a healer. 

"We'll take care of things from here. But you all should report this to the headmistress," spoke one of the healers. She studied the needle mark and took a blood sample from the girl.

We all nodded and started to head out. Aurora didn't move from the bedside.

"You guys go on ahead. Someone should stay behind and explain what happened," she spoke. _Right. Totally not because you think she's cute or anything._ I thought to myself. But, I wouldn't call her out. Yet.

Damari stayed with his sister and the rest of us left, deciding to head to the library and tell Nix and Xena about what happened before talking to the headmistress.

We walked through the long corridors of the academy building, staying silent. All of us were probably stuck in our own heads over what we saw, the events actually sinking in. At least, I knew I was.

We all saw that shadowy figure looming over the girl before it disappeared into the dark. And that needle mark on her neck… Her sickly appearance… What the hell had breached the campus' security and attacked a student?

I lagged behind the rest of the group as we entered the expansive library. The room was a large rotunda with rows upon rows of bookshelves on the first floor, as well as books lining the walls from top to bottom. The second floor was a balcony floor overlooking it all, also lined with books and cushioned chairs. The building was quiet, save for the muffled shuffling of feet and book pages. It was peaceful.

"Hey, are you okay?" Quinn's voice sounded silently beside me. The rest of our group walked ahead, searching for Nix and Xena. _So, why had she stayed behind with me?_

"Uh, yeah," I whispered back, "No problems here." I forced a smirk onto my face, hoping she'd buy it. It didn't look like she did, if the small, pouty crease in her brows was anything to go by.

Her look softened after a moment, however, as she spoke up again, "I'm worried, too." Quinn's tone was more quiet when she said this, even for a silence-in-the-library level of sound. I nodded slightly in reply and walked more closely next to her. 

We finally found Nix and Xena in the large library. The two were huddled together on a small couch, reading a large book titled _Assault on Forge._ A history book? _Kinda secondary school level knowledge, but okay._

Once the two saw our small group approach, Nix quickly scooted as far away as possible from Xena, as if she had been burned by the woman's touch. Her face was absolutely red and her ears pinned, but we had other things to deal with at the moment.

  
  


"What? How could someone get past the barriers?" Xena asked, once we had finished explaining what happened. None of us knew the answer, either. "Well, we need to tell the headmistress, immediately." And so, we all set out again.


End file.
